25. founder/flounderhttp://www.thefreedictionary.com/founder , Usage Note: The verbs founder and flounder are often confused. Founder comes from a Latin word meaning "bottom" (as in foundation) and originally referred to knocking enemies down; it is now also used to mean "to fail utterly, collapse." Flounder means "to move clumsily, thrash about," and hence "to proceed in confusion." If John is foundering in Chemistry 1, he had better drop the course; if he is floundering, he may yet pull through.

* fall >> flounder /mGC/abT/+bp >> founder /mGC/abT/+cp

founderv.intr.1. To sink below the surface of the water: The ship struck a reef and foundered.2. To cave in; sink: The platform swayed and then foundered.3. To fail utterly; collapse: a marriage that soon foundered.4. To stumble, especially to stumble and go lame. Used of horses.5. To become ill from overeating. Used of livestock.6. To be afflicted with laminitis. Used of horses.v.tr.To cause to founder.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/flounder , flounder1. To make clumsy attempts to move or regain one's balance.2. To move or act clumsily and in confusion. See Synonyms at blunder. See Usage Note at founder1.n.The act of floundering.

26. author/writehttp://www.thefreedictionary.com/author , Usage Note: The verb author, which had been out of use for a long period, has been rejuvenated in recent years with the sense "to assume responsibility for the content of a published text." As such it is not quite synonymous with the verb write; one can write, but not author, a love letter or an unpublished manuscript, and the writer who ghostwrites a book for a celebrity cannot be said to have "authored" the creation. The sentence He has authored a dozen books on the subject was unacceptable to 74 percent of the Usage Panel, probably because it implies that having a book published is worthy of special lexical distinction, a notion that sits poorly with conventional literary sensibilities and seems to smack of press agentry. The sentence The Senator authored a bill limiting uses of desert lands in California was similarly rejected by 64 percent of the Panel, though here the usage is common journalistic practice and is perhaps justified by the observation that we do not expect that legislators will actually write the bills to which they attach their names. • The use of author as a verb in computer-related contexts is well established and unexceptionable.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/permit , Usage Note: In the sense "to allow for, be consistent with," permit is often followed by the preposition of: The wording of the note permits of several interpretations. But of should not be used when the meaning of permit is "to give permission": The law permits (not permits of ) camping on the beach.

v.tr.1. To allow the doing of (something); consent to: permit the sale of alcoholic beverages.2. To grant consent or leave to (someone); authorize: permitted him to explain.3. To afford opportunity or possibility for: weather that permits sailing.v.intr.To afford opportunity; allow: if circumstances permit.

http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861711399/way.html , Word Usage Way or ways?The plural noun ways is informally used in place of way in expressions such as a long ways to go down this old trail; a long ways to go to capture the tennis title. Such usages are not appropriate in formal speaking and writing: Researchers have a long way [not ways] to go before they can validate the safety of this drug for public consumption. As an adverb, way is used informally to mean "to a considerable degree," where far is preferable in formal speaking and writing. In formal contexts a synopsis that was far too long should be used rather than a synopsis that was way too long. Another meaning of the adverb way, "extremely," is slang, and usages like the following are inappropriate in formal spoken and written English: way scared, way cool, way mean, and way wrong, where quite scared, extremely cool, very mean, and totally wrong are appropriate substitutes.http://www.thefreedictionary.com/way , Usage Note: Way has long been an intensifying adverb meaning "to a great degree," as in way over budget. This usage is both acceptable and common but has an informal ring. • Way is also used as a general intensifier, as in way cool and way depressing. This locution has expanded beyond its original range of younger speakers, but it is still regarded as slang. • In American English ways is often used as an equivalent of way in phrases such as a long ways to go. The usage is acceptable but is usually considered informal.

30. tickethttp://www.thefreedictionary.com/ticket , Word History: The resemblance in form between the words ticket and etiquette is not accidental; both have the same ultimate source, Old French estiquet. But because these words were borrowed into English at different times, they came into our language with different meanings. Old French estiquet meant "a note, label." Having been changed in form to etiquet in French, the word was adopted into English in the 16th century in a form without the initial e, tiket (first recorded in 1528). The earliest uses of the word in English were in the senses "a short written notice," "a notice posted in a public place," and "a written certification." The word is first recorded with reference to something like a ticket of admission in 1673. In French, meanwhile, the word (in the form étiquette) came in the 18th century to mean "a ceremonial, a book in which court ceremonies were noted down or labeled." The French word was borrowed again into English, this time in the form etiquette, which is first recorded in 1750.

31. racehttp://www.thefreedictionary.com/race , Usage Note: The notion of race is nearly as problematic from a scientific point of view as it is from a social one. European physical anthropologists of the 17th and 18th centuries proposed various systems of racial classifications based on such observable characteristics as skin color, hair type, body proportions, and skull measurements, essentially codifying the perceived differences among broad geographic populations of humans. The traditional terms for these populations—Caucasoid (or Caucasian), Mongoloid, Negroid, and in some systems Australoid—are now controversial in both technical and nontechnical usage, and in some cases they may well be considered offensive. (Caucasian does retain a certain currency in American English, but it is used almost exclusively to mean "white" or "European" rather than "belonging to the Caucasian race," a group that includes a variety of peoples generally categorized as nonwhite.) The biological aspect of race is described today not in observable physical features but rather in such genetic characteristics as blood groups and metabolic processes, and the groupings indicated by these factors seldom coincide very neatly with those put forward by earlier physical anthropologists. Citing this and other points—such as the fact that a person who is considered black in one society might be nonblack in another—many cultural anthropologists now consider race to be more a social or mental construct than an objective biological fact.

32. serieshttp://www.thefreedictionary.com/series , Usage Note: Series is both a singular and a plural form. When it has the singular sense of "one set," it takes a singular verb, even when series is followed by of and a plural noun: A series of lectures is scheduled. When it has the plural sense of "two or more sets," it takes a plural verb: Two series of lectures are scheduled: one for experts and one for laypeople.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/wake , Usage Note: The pairs wake, waken and awake, awaken have formed a bewildering array since the Middle English period. All four words have similar meanings, though there are some differences in use. Only wake is used in the sense "to be awake," as in expressions like waking (not wakening) and sleeping, every waking hour. Wake is also more common than waken when used together with up, and awake and awaken never occur in this context: She woke up (rarely wakened up; never awakened up or awoke up). Some writers have suggested that waken should be used only transitively (as in The alarm wakened him) and awaken only intransitively (as in He awakened at dawn), but there is ample literary precedent for usages such as He wakened early and They did not awaken her. In figurative senses awake and awaken are more prevalent: With the governor's defeat the party awoke to the strength of the opposition to its position on abortion. The scent of the gardenias awakened my memory of his unexpected appearance that afternoon years ago.Regional Note: Regional American dialects vary in the way that certain verbs form their principal parts. Northern dialects seem to favor forms that change the internal vowel in the verb - - hence dove for the past tense of dive, and woke for wake: They woke up with a start. Southern dialects, on the other hand, tend to prefer forms that add an -ed to form the past tense and the past participle of these same verbs: The children dived into the swimming hole. The baby waked up early.USAGE: Where there is an object and the sense is the literal one wake (up) and waken are the commonest forms: I wakened him; I woke him (up). Both verbs are also commonly used without an object: I woke up. Awake and awaken are preferred to other forms of wake where the sense is a figurative one: he awoke to the danger.USAGE Both wake and its synonym waken can be used either with or without an object: I woke/wakened my sister, and also I woke/wakened (up) at noon. Wake, wake up, and occasionally waken, can also be used in a figurative sense, for example seeing him again woke painful memories; and it's time he woke up to his responsibilities. The verbs awake and awaken are more commonly used in the figurative than the literal sense, for example he awoke to the danger he was in.http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/awake.html , Word Usage awake, awaken, wake, or waken?Although all four verbs are interchangeable in both the transitive and the intransitive meanings, in practice awake and awaken are preferred in figurative meanings: At last we awoke to the dangers that faced us. When used in literal meanings awake and awaken are normally used intransitively or in the passive: He awoke at four in the morning. I was awakened by shouts in the street. Will you wake us at four? Wake is the only one of these verbs that can be followed by up: I woke up at six this morning.http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wake , Etymology: partly from Middle English waken (past wook, past participle waken), from Old English wacan to awake (past wōc, past participle wacen); partly from Middle English wakien, waken (past & past participle waked), from Old English wacian to be awake (past wacode, past participle wacod); akin to Old English wæccan to watch, Latin vegēre to enlivenFirst Known Use: before 12th century

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/mean , USAGE In standard British English, mean should not be followed by for when expressing intention. I didn't mean this to happen is acceptable, but not I didn't mean for this to happen.

Usage Note: In the sense of "financial resources" means takes a plural verb: His means are more than adequate. In the sense of "a way to an end," means may be treated as either a singular or plural. It is singular when referring to a particular strategy or method: The best means of securing the cooperation of the builders is to appeal to their self-interest. It is plural when it refers to a group of strategies or methods: The most effective means for dealing with the drug problem have generally been those suggested by the affected communities. • Means is most often followed by of: a means of noise reduction. But for, to, and toward are also used: a means for transmitting sound; a means to an end; a means toward achieving equality.

http://www.answers.com/include , Usage Note: Some writers insist that include be used only when it is followed by a partial list of the contents of the referent of the subject. Therefore, one may write New England includes Connecticut and Rhode Island, but one must use comprise or consist of to provide full enumeration: New England comprises (not includes) Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. This restriction is too strong. Include does not rule out the possibility of a complete listing. Thus the sentence The bibliography should include all the journal articles you have used does not entail that the bibliography must contain something other than journal articles, though it does leave that possibility open. The use of comprise or consist of, however, will avoid ambiguity when a listing is meant to be exhaustive. Thus the sentence The task force includes all of the Navy units on active duty in the region allows for the possibility that Marine and Army units are also taking part, where the same sentence with comprise would entail that the task force contained only Navy forces. See Usage Note at comprise.http://www.answers.com/comprise , Usage Note: The traditional rule states that the whole comprises the parts and the parts compose the whole. In strict usage: The Union comprises 50 states. Fifty states compose (or constitute or make up) the Union. Even though careful writers often maintain this distinction, comprise is increasingly used in place of compose, especially in the passive: The Union is comprised of 50 states. Our surveys show that opposition to this usage is abating. In the 1960s, 53 percent of the Usage Panel found this usage unacceptable; in 1996, only 35 percent objected. See Usage Note at include.http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/comprise.html , Word Usage comprise, consist of, include, compose, or constitute?Comprise and consist of are concerned with a whole having a number of parts. They are used in the active voice, with the whole as their subject and the parts as their object: The house comprises three bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room. The meal consisted of several small dishes that everybody dipped into and shared. Use of comprise in the sense "to constitute" is controversial. Avoid constructions like this if you wish to steer clear of criticism: The house is comprised of three bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room. Three bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room comprise the house. If some rather than all the parts are mentioned, include may be used instead: The house includes a kitchen and a living room on the first floor. Compose and constitute are concerned with parts making up a whole. Compose is normally used in the passive, and constitute in the active: The team is composed of several experts in the field. The following commodities constitute the average household diet. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comprise , 3 : compose , constitute <a misconception as to what comprises a literary generation — William Styron> <about 8 percent of our military forces are comprised of women — Jimmy Carter>usage Although it has been in use since the late 18th century, sense 3 is still attacked as wrong. Why it has been singled out is not clear, but until comparatively recent times it was found chiefly in scientific or technical writing rather than belles lettres. Our current evidence shows a slight shift in usage: sense 3 is somewhat more frequent in recent literary use than the earlier senses. You should be aware, however, that if you use sense 3 you may be subject to criticism for doing so, and you may want to choose a safer synonym such as compose or make up.